After scandal, McAllister lacks incumbent's edge

Melinda Deslatte, Associated Press
5:58 p.m. CDT September 14, 2014

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, (left) holds a ceremonial swearing-in for newly-elected U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister, R-Swartz, on Nov. 21 in Washington. McAllister is up for re-election in November but faces a new set of challenges - and some new challengers - this time.
(Photo:
AP
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GREENSBURG – The modest meeting room in St. Helena Parish seemed a world away from Capitol Hill, with no one in business suits and wide open farmland nearby. The number of people assembled in folding chairs was tiny for an incumbent congressman, only a half-dozen.

But U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister diligently worked to sell himself, describing his district outreach, his willingness to help folks struggling with federal bureaucracy and the modest amount of seniority he's accumulated in Washington. The Republican congressman knew the votes that once could have been easy to count in his favor now were in question heading into the Nov. 4 election.

The benefits of a being an incumbent are nearly non-existent for Louisiana's newest member of the U.S. House now that he's tarred by scandal.

McAllister is running for re-election with no time to have piled up accomplishments in his short nine months in office, with no support from his own Republican Party — and with that infamous video, grainy security footage leaked in April showing the married father of five kissing a former aide.

With his wife's encouragement, McAllister bucked the leaders of his party who called on him to resign.

"I make mistakes just like anybody else," he said in his thick drawl, before registering for his re-election bid. "We have a God of second chances."

This race looks a lot different than his last one, though.

Plenty of challengers

The Democratic Monroe mayor who helped get McAllister elected last year, Jamie Mayo, is running against him. The bearded men of TV's "Duck Dynasty" who helped put him on the map have abandoned him for family member and candidate Zach Dasher. And McAllister has raised little money because the scandal undermined his fundraising advantage.

"He has done a disservice to our district, and I just don't think that he's got much effectiveness going forward," said Harris Brown, a Republican businessman from Monroe running against him.

It seems like the perfect road to a loss. But polls suggest McAllister, from the small town of Swartz, has a significant shot at winning.

No clear challenger has emerged in the 10-candidate field for the race to represent the northeast Louisiana-based 5th District, and the race appears guaranteed to head into a Dec. 6 runoff. McAllister recently poured another $400,000 of his own money into his campaign, and he's on the town hall circuit, traveling to each of the 24 parishes in his large, rural district.

Of the large number of opponents he's attracted, he says: "The more, the merrier."

He brushes off talk that the famous Robertson clan from "Duck Dynasty" has abandoned him and says he remains as close to them as ever: "They should support their family member. If they didn't, they wouldn't be the family I thought they were."

As for Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal's comments that he has no intention of endorsing the incumbent congressman, McAllister responds: "Thanks. I can sleep at night now."

How he arrived

A self-made millionaire, McAllister was a political unknown when he ran in a special election to replace Republican Rodney Alexander, who had resigned to take a job in Jindal's cabinet. McAllister had never been to Washington before his election to Congress, instead focusing on a business empire that includes a pipeline construction company, an oil and gas exploration firm, Subway fast food franchises, and a company that promotes mixed martial arts events.

Support from the popular reality TV show family combined with a deep pool of personal wealth helped vault McAllister into a runoff, and then he stunned the GOP when he crushed the establishment candidate in the race, state Sen. Neil Riser.

His entire candidacy caught political insiders by surprise.

He capitalized on voter frustration with Washington and ran as a conservative, but also as a pragmatist who criticized gridlock and hyper-partisanship.

While he disagrees with President Barack Obama's positions on most issues, McAllister suggests the federal health care law needs fixing rather than repeal. He backs Medicaid expansion for Louisiana, which Jindal and Republican leaders have successfully blocked.

Last year, he put his family and faith at the center of his campaign, and despite the cheating scandal, he hasn't stopped talking about either for this election.

"People say, 'Well, you can't talk about Christianity.' Why not? Am I the first Christian to ever make a mistake?" McAllister said.

Mayo speaks out

Mayo, whose base of black voter support helped McAllister win last year's runoff, said he's not upset with McAllister, even though he's now challenging him for the seat.

"I'm not running on any scandal or anything like that. I do think there is a level of not being able to be effective because of that which occurred, and that's problematic. But it's nothing personal," the Monroe mayor said.

Mayo's candidacy could cut into McAllister's support from moderates. Meanwhile, the congressman continues to be plagued with criticism that he's not conservative enough for the district, even though he voted with his party to sue Obama for executive overreach,

McAllister tosses that criticism aside like he does talk of his kissing video scandal. And he hops back into his truck and continues pitching himself to the district's voters, saying they'll decide his fate.

"That's the beauty of America. It's a choice," he said.

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Five things to know

• Last election in the country: Louisiana has a unique "jungle primary" system in which all candidates, regardless of party, run against each other and the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff if no contender gets more than 50 percent of the vote. That means while states around the nation will wrap up their congressional election cycle in the Nov. 4 general election, several of Louisiana's congressional seats aren't expected to be decided until a Dec. 6 runoff. Depending on the results around the country, a December runoff in Louisiana's U.S. Senate race could decide which party controls the chamber.

• Senate race spending: Louisiana's U.S. Senate race is expected to be the highest-spending congressional election in the state's history. Already, Democratic incumbent Mary Landrieu has raised $14.1 million this election cycle, while her chief Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, has brought in $8.6 million. Tea party favorite Rob Maness, a Republican and retired Air Force colonel making his first bid for office, has picked up more than $1.3 million in donations, according to the most recent fundraising reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. The figures don't include millions of dollars in advertising poured into the state by third-party groups.

• Easy ride for some: Five of Louisiana's six U.S. House members are running for re-election: Republicans Steve Scalise, Charles Boustany, John Fleming and Vance McAllister, and Democrat Cedric Richmond. The sixth, Republican Bill Cassidy, is trying to oust Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu from her seat. McAllister is trying to rebound from a cheating scandal and faces a crowded field of opponents. But the state's four other House incumbents haven't attracted any well-funded challengers.

• Four decades later: Attention on the competition for the open 6th District congressional seat has centered on one man: former Gov. Edwin Edwards, the popular 87-year-old who left federal prison only a few years ago. A Democrat who shaped the Louisiana political scene for half a century, Edwards is best known for his four terms as the state's governor. Many forget Edwards once served four terms in the U.S. House. But he'd return to a much different Washington than he left 42 years ago. Edwards was in Congress from 1965 to 1972, first elected when Lyndon Johnson was president and ending his House tenure when Richard Nixon was in the White House.

• Constitutional changes: Louisianians may need to do some studying before they head into the voting booth. Also on November's ballot, but often overlooked by voters, will be 14 proposals to rewrite the state constitution. The secretary of state's office has a list of the amendments that voters will face online here.